Volume 25 Number 1
Welcome to the first issue of the African Security Review for 2016.
2015 was an eventful year for human security in Africa. It bagan violently in Nigeria, where the combined influences of terrorism and a general election resulted in thousands of deaths in the first three months of the year. Boko Haram continued its campagn of violent terrorism in Nigerial in 2015, starting the year with a masssacre in Baga that claimed as many as 2 000 lives. Amidst its struggle to curtail Boko Haram, Nigeria held a general election in March 2015 that saw the eruption of violent protest in various forms. Although Boko Haram has sustained its attacks against civilians throughout the year, the Nigerian military has managed to make some headway in its fight against the militant group – by November 2015, the fatality levels in Nigeria had dropped to a low not seen since Februray 2013, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED).
Sudan and South Sudan were also dogged by violence in 2015, with stalled peace talks and ceasefires littering the second half of the year. In addition, low-level conflicts continued to play out in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Somalia, the Central African Republic, and Libya. Challenges to democracy and governance were seen in Burundi, Rwanda, Burkina Faso and the Republic of Congo. Interesstingly, 2015 has been the most active year for South Africa according to the ACLED Project data set, with a 33% increase over the political violence violence and protest action that took place in 2014. All of these issues and countries require monitoring going into 2016; and there is no doubt some issues will escalate while new issues will come to the fore during the coming year.
This issue of the journal contains articles that illustrate the breadth of topics and concerns for for huma security in Africa.
Romi Sigsworth (Editor)
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